


The Arc of Conflict, Fragment e14e,1: it is necessary, but is it right?

by bzarcher, solarbird



Series: Of Gods and Monsters [83]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath, Air Force, Canon Lesbian Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Choices, F/F, Gen, Oasis (Overwatch), Post-Talon, Realization, Reflection, Regret, Russia, Self-Reflection, Slipstream Incident (Overwatch), Talon Emily (Overwatch), Talon Hana "D.Va" Song, Talon Lena "Tracer" Oxton, Team Talon (Overwatch), Trans Sombra (Overwatch), Volskaya Industries (Overwatch), With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 11:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18637471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bzarcher/pseuds/bzarcher, https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarbird/pseuds/solarbird
Summary: Alliances, it has been said, are at their weakest on the brink of defeat, and on the brink of victory. After defeating the China Sea omnium, the gods of Oasis offered their help to Russia, to defeat their own Siberian threat, and Russia accepted that offer -  but made additional secret plans of their own.In the wake of the air battle against the Russian bombing squadron, the after-action debriefing leads to more than one revelation.Of Gods and Monsters: The Arc of Conflictis a continuance ofThe Arc of Ascension,The Arc of Creation, andThe Armourer and the Living Weapon. It will be told in a series of eddas, sagas, interludes, fragments, texts, and cantos, all of which serve their individual purposes. To follow the story as it appears,please subscribe to the series.





	The Arc of Conflict, Fragment e14e,1: it is necessary, but is it right?

**Author's Note:**

> dirtyclaws has launched [a public fan-run _Of Gods and Monsters_ discord server](https://discord.gg/pDZMpVT) and invites everyone to come join it. ^_^

The fourth-generation Superharrier supersonic fighter teleported into space above its landing pad, neutralised its little remaining momentum, and settled slowly and surprisingly quietly down on the landing pad. The ground crew came running as Lena Oxton popped the canopy, loudly cheering her, hoisting her on their shoulders as she fistbumped and high-fived all comers - Khayyir in particular, as he scrambled up the latter and into the cockpit.

"Everything was good?" he called, plugging a handheld device directly into the fighter's computers.

"Perfect, luv!" Tracer shouted back, as she was carried off. "Put me down, mates!" she said, and they responded by throwing her up into the air again, and she laughed, and teleported over and down, onto the ground, standing and saluting, eliciting one more cheer.

"Well done, team! Well _bloody_ done. She performed like a dream. But chief" - she turned, facing her ground crew leader - "I want this bird ready to launch again in 20 minutes. The air's clear now, but we've no idea how long that'll last, and we've got t'be ready. I'll check in at the MoD and then come right back."

Serena nodded, saluted, and turned to her crew, barking orders in Arabic. "Let's go let's go let's GO! Complete checkout and reload, now now now now now!"

Lena grinned, and spun 'round to head for her locker, to swap out her flight suit. She didn't really need one, not anymore, but it made the ground techs less nervous if she wore it. And besides, every time she put on the Slipstream-emblazoned outfit, she felt as though she'd conquered a little more of her old fear.

 _And there's a lot_ , she thought, _to be said for that._

\-----

"Nice job out there, pilot," Hana said, a little joking, but not really, as Lena teleported into the war room at the MoD. "97% hit rate on fire. Nice."

"Thanks, luv! Any sign of another sortee?"

"Not yet. And that bothers me. That was too much just to be a feint, but..." She concentrated, not quite feeling it out. "We need to be ready for something else before they'll let the UN step in. This won't be the only strike."

"I think you're right. It's eating at me, too."

Hana tapped at the table, thinking.

"Sombra's awake again, did you hear?"

Lena gasped a little. "Brilliant! How is she? Is she..."

"She's _very much_ herself," Hana replied, a hint of exasperation emphasising the truth.

"Ohthankgod," Lena said rapidly, the words bursting from her as a unit, carrying almost palpable relief as they tumbled out. "I've been so worried!”

"There's more. She's apparently been kind of awake this whole time? Watching? And she got herself the rest of the way up and demanded to speak to me."

"...got _herself_ up?" Lena thought about it. "...she was still sedated?"

"Yeah. Michael's a little freaked out."

"I would be too!"

"Anyway, we've been talking, and she's been catching _me_ up." The MEKA shook her head. "I'm glad she's on our side. She's _scary_ sometimes. But in a good way."

"We've all got a bit of that these days, don't y'think?"

Hana looked wistful but chuckled as Emily deghosted, appearing beside her wife, holding her tight. "Lover! That was _amazing_. How was flight stability? Telemetry looks good but that's not the same. Tell me everything!"

"Smooth as silk, just like y'promised. No hint of field fluctuations. It was like just like flyin' any other craft of the line, except it could keep up with me!" She grinned, broadly. "Khayyir and Kamala need raises. So does Serena."

She looked around, taking stock of who wasn't in the room with them.

"Where's mum? Angie? Ree?"

"Talking with the PM," Hana grimaced. "The Federal one. She's hella relieved, but still pretty mad. They're hammering away at the UN, trying to get some sort of emergency intervention."

"Right," Lena said. "We've impressed them, but they have missiles and I'd hate to have to test the city shielding against live fire."

"You and me both," Emily agreed. "Satya's checking the emitters personally. And Amélie's out with the missile-defense teams, making sure they're optimally configured, too."

"Good," Lena said, nodding, biting her lower lip. "Hana's right. Something else is coming. But what?"

"You're really nervous, aren't you?" Emily asked, nuzzling into Lena's neck, feeling her relax, just a little.

"Yeh."

"Why? You slaughtered them." She grinned. "Auntie should've let you chase Vokskaya the first time. You were right, you _could_ take on the whole Russian air force."

"Yeah," Lena agreed, grinning a little despite herself. "I ... that's part of the problem, I think. Maybe. Dunno."

"What're you not saying? Tell me."

"It's hard to describe," the teleporter replied, her fingers working at nothing, echoing her work at the controls of the Slipstream. "I was... well, I was feeling my oats, back then. I didn't mean it, not really. But now... I really feel like I could! Today felt... unfair."

"It's always unfair with us," Emily said, taking Lena's left hand, bringing it to her face, nuzzling it. "Y'know that."

"Yeh," Lena smiled, reflexively, then shook her head and grimaced. "But... even moreso, right? With so much power available off the onboard generators, it's... _too_ easy. Teleport, kill, teleport, kill, teleport, kill, rewind time, repeat. Even when they don't really have a chance, one on one, it _feels_ like they do, and today... it didn't."

A soft 'ah,' from Emily. "No challenge at all, then?"

"None," Lena confirmed. "They... they were pretty good pilots, I think. If our intel is right, they were top flyers. But it didn't matter. Sittin' ducks, every one of 'em." She frowned. "And it don't sit right."

"It _needed_ to happen, lover. They were coming to bomb us."

"I know," Tracer nodded. "I'm not _sorry_. I'm just..."

She glanced up at her younger wife.

"It's... this is just how far ahead of 'em we are now, innit it."

Emily gave that some thought, playing with the idea in her mind. "I... guess so?"

"Yeah. It just is." Lena's frown softened, turning wistful. "We've got... a lot of power, luv. We're gonna have to be _real_ careful how we use it."

Oilliphéist just laughed. "How 'bout we talk about that once Russia's not trying to bomb us into sand?"

Tracer snorted. Her wife had a good point, and she knew it.

 _But really_ , she thought, as her mums emerged into the war room, _...so do I._

**Author's Note:**

> This is the thirteenth instalment of _Of Gods and Monsters: The Arc of Conflict_. To follow the story, [subscribe to the series via this link](https://archiveofourown.org/series/972024), rather than to the individual works.


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